One thing is certain, Todd Graham gets it

I was underwhelmed by the hiring of Todd Graham as the new
head coach of the Arizona State football.

It wasn’t that I think Graham is a bad coach. I don’t.

The coaching search and the negative press heaped upon
Graham’s unsightly departure from Pittsburgh to take the
ASU job left a bad taste in my mouth.

That was three months ago. Since then, Graham has been
praised for putting together a respected coaching staff
and assembling a competitive recruiting class, highlighted
by the signing of Saguaro High star D.J. Foster.

That’s all well and good, but what Graham put together on
Wednesday may have been his best move yet.

Graham invited Valley sports media members to an informal
lunch with him and his staff just to get to know each
other
better. There were coaches at every table, chit-chatting
about football and non-football related topics.

The head coach himself addressed the group, and talked
about the importance of working closely with the local
media. He talked about accessibility, transparency and
accomodation. He joked about not recruiting players who
can’t or won’t speak to the media and referred to the
press as a free resource for his program.

I don’t know if he can coach the Sun Devils to Pac-12 and
national prominence, but I can say this without
equivocation: Todd Graham gets it.

He fully realizes that he is the CEO of Arizona State
football, and he very clearly relishes that role. He
realizes that he can’t do it alone, and he has surrounded
himself with capable assistants, recruiters and
administrators.

Most head coaches will say what everyone wants to hear at
their introductory press conferences, only to fall short
on delivering on their promises. When he first appeared
on the ASU campus in mid-December, Graham stressed
discipline, an ingredient that had been missing from the
Sun Devils’ on-field product for a while.

Wednesday, he joked that he initially thought the no-
earring policy he’s instituted would end in anarchy. He
won’t allow players to Tweet during the season. He
discussed the fact that a lot of fans have a double-
standard when it comes to discipline — that they’ll
applaud a coach for making an example of a mediocre player
who messes up but will vilify him for reprimanding a star
player.

Graham has no such double-standard. And the man can tell
a story.

During lunch, newly-hired running backs coach Larry Porter
asked me how he and the rest of the staff could help make
my job easier.

I almost choked on my brisket.

The simple fact that he asked and that the coaching staff
has that attitude in itself made my job easier.